Athens, Swimming, Ants, Smart fridges

Athens
Lenin, whose brother was executed for plotting to kill the tsar, said that terror bombs caused a brief excitement in the population, after which they sank into deeper despair than before.
I tend to agree, but it is still stirring to see schoolkids hurling Molotovs against Empire. Empire, in coordination with Psychiatry, has successfully marked the solitary protest as a mental/medical disorder. (although the general view of Timothy McVeigh is not really that he was a nutter, rather a truly dangerous, focused enemy)
Salafi responds with groups of 10 or 20. While Empire may attempt to sell these as 'brainwashed' or 'deluded' it is impossible to use the psychiatric/insane political model to dismiss these crimes.
Whenever we hear of multiple groups of attacks, we shudder at the sense of purpose, we know we cannot dismiss them as neurological outliers.

When a human convivial society is constructed, I trust it will bear no resemblance to Taliban, or Wahabi, which are mere medieval responses to the inhumanity of Empire.
serendipity

Athens xmas tree, the traditional riot and burning of...
__________________________________________________


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivr3m6N_k9WDCCF8JMFvT5TlQYrFvu9EhIV0Iv_vxutTrQzcOG1TMGjvhWAs_mkT_LSvYijYvLPc7bTZ4Z6x0DgFIpGBML4h9oFTgJgbtowwGjACfJ2xhbOf_f_4IQHVrqXUENow/s720/69113749.RxyYwduL.Symphony27.jpg
130 liberty st , my office was behind that flag
__________________________________________________
bbc
10 Philippine gangsters armed with M16s,and some police and bystanders killed in shootout. Gang apparently attempting to penetrate a 'gated' suburb.
(My only experience of a 'gated' suburb was one time we had a huge fine to pay to the landlord, on account of shorting the electric meter.
Anyway, turns out its just as hard to get OUT of a gated compound with your furniture, if the guards have been alerted... we found a back road, the landlord still promising to put a cap in my head...)
If I was to pick up a gun, it would definitely not be a fat-slug AK-47. Give me a M16 with that grenade launcher.

---

Old Stash
msnbc
Nearly two pounds of still-green plant material found in a 2,700-year-old grave in the Gobi Desert has just been identified as the world's oldest marijuana stash, according to a paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany.

A barrage of tests proves the marijuana possessed potent psychoactive properties and casts doubt on the theory that the ancients only grew the plant for hemp in order to make clothing, rope and other objects.

---

effortless swimming.com - some kind of moneywall site, but the one video I caught revealed that I have been reaching too far forwards all these years
total-immersion
In Primary school (Marist Brothers Thorndon, a scrap of asphalt now a hole in the air above a motorway) we were all marched down to Thorndon baths for swimming lessons. First instruction: "Anyone splashing will be thrown out". As a born contrarian, my 8 year old self promptly splashed another boy. To my amazement, I was sent back to school. For the next 5 Thursday afternoons, I spent summer afternoons isolated at school with a couple of 'special' kids and never learned to swim. So self taught, I guess I oughta get the dvd.

---

CoolIris is fast enough to be cool. Picasa/Google pictures are CoolIris enabled. A kindof wall of pics, which actually works.
eg for looking at neat "false color" xray pics from chandra

---

Ants
The world holds as much ant flesh as it does that of humans.
Sometimes I wake up in Prague, sometimes I wake up in a leaf-cutter ant colony.
It was found that 10% of an ant colony were standing around doing nothing. Scientists removed the inactive ants. A day later it was found that 10% of the colony were standing around doing nothing.
Who is more evolved?

---

baby gorillas - cute video (lots of files/midges around, guess that explains the fur) 5 new babies in a war zone.
nationalgeographic

---

dynamic demand, smart fridges
treehugger
Its clear that many power-stations could be obviated if appliances could negotiate down-time during peaks of demand.
I only turn my hot water on 1 hour before shower.


Klaatu barada nikto
__________________________________________________
theoildrum
Carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion are forecast to rise from 11.7 billion metric tons in 2006 to 18.6 billion metric tons in 2030.

---

“My favorite thing about Somalian pirates is that they have an official pirate spokesman. I read one article in which the “pirate spokesman could not be reached for comment.” When they finally did reach him, he proved to be rather funny. When asked why the pirates needed $20 million to protect themselves from hunger, Mr. Sugule (the spokesman) laughed. “Because we have a lot of men!”
brendaandthefword

---

---

Plastic Bags
terrapass
terrapassuses (pdf ugh!)
food
The Joules in the food are way more important than the Joules in the plastic Bag
(I am preparing a post on Food-Miles soon, in honour of my niece who has scored a job in London researching local-food)

---

Alcohol
topiramate, even in low doses early in treatment, has the capacity to ameliorate the turbulence of anxiety and mood instability that accompanies cessation from alcohol. Topiramate also produced a robust effect on improving maintenance of abstinence and reduced alcohol use. A single pharmacologic agent that enhances early abstinence, stabilizes mood and anxiety symptoms, and promotes long-term abstinence with only modest psychosocial intervention is indeed a remarkable treatment advance."
about